The racers set off from St. Petersburg on June 5, make a short stop-over in Helsinki on June 6, and finish in Warnemuende (Rostock, Germany) on June 9–10. Among the race participants are yacht club teams from Finland, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom, as well as a crew representing the European Union.

The anniversary race is marked by a new rule aimed to bring more young yachtsmen into the competition. Pursuant to the race procedures, each team must now have at least three racers under the age of 25. The Russian crew includes young athletes who participated in the Gazprom Youth Sailing Challenge.

During the event, Alexey Miller took a tour around the Bronenosec yacht of the Russian crew represented by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club.

Vladimir Lyubomirov, Commodore of St. Petersburg Yacht Club, and Alexey Miller during tour around Bronenosec yacht

“As recently as 2012, we launched this sports project, namely the international Nord Stream Race. Today, we celebrate its fifth anniversary. Since then the race has gained much-deserved credibility and become known as a prominent sporting event. The Nord Stream Race unites world-famous professionals and newcomers in yachting and sailing from many countries.

The route of the Nord Stream Race is set along the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Just like the non-transit gas trunkline of the same name, the race is successfully bringing Europe and Russia closer together. The Nord Stream 2 project will open new horizons for the economic cooperation with our European partners and for the race itself,” said Alexey Miller.

In addition, Alexey Miller awarded 12 laureates of the first stage of the Optimists of the Northern Capital. Gazprom Cup children's sailing race. The awards were handed out in four categories: Boys, Girls, Young Boys, and Young Girls.

Background

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club was established in 2010 to promote sailing and yachting.

The international Nord Stream Race has been held annually since 2012. The race is organized by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club with the support of the Norddeutsche Regatta Verein, Helsingfors Segelklubb yacht club (Helsinki), and Rostocker Regatta Verein (Rostock). The race involving Gazprom Swan 60 yachts covers some 750 nautical miles (about 1,400 kilometers) across the waters of Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Germany. For more details please visit www.nord-stream-race.com.

Gazprom Youth Sailing Challenge is a professional advancement program for young Russian yachtsmen, implemented by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club with the support of Gazprom.

Since 2012, Gazprom has provided assistance to the St. Petersburg Yacht Club in running the four-stage Optimists of the Northern Capital. Gazprom Cup children's sailing race.

On September 4, 2015, Gazprom, BASF, ENGIE, OMV, Shell, and Uniper inked the Shareholders Agreement to construct the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline system with the annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.